§ Mr. Gwilym Robertsasked the Prime Minister how many full- and part-time appointments, respectively, are made by him which are not subject to regulation by the Civil Service Commission; what is the total sum paid annually as salary and expenses for such appointments; and if he will take steps to reduce the number of such posts.
§ The Prime MinisterAs far as paid appoinments are concerned, I refer my hon. Friend to the reply I gave on 19th May to my hon. Friend the Member for West Stirlingshire (Mr. Canavan).
I make some 170 unpaid appointments, of which more than half are trustees appointed to the boards of museums and galleries. Information about expenses is 406W not readily available and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost. In most cases the number of these appointments is fixed by statute, and I have no plans to reduce the present number.